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Though high winds hit the area overnight Monday into Tuesday morning as superstorm Sandy moved north, Ottawa escaped with very little damage.

"It sounded like a train in the distance, right outside my window, all night," said Eric Foote, who lives in Merrickville, Ont., south of Ottawa. "Barbecues went flying across, people can't find their garbage cans this morning, but other than that, yeah, a non-event."

Foote said he usually helps clean-up crews after powerful storms. He said this time around, he doesn't have much cleaning up to do.

Douglas Struthers, Merrickville's mayor, said the town dodged a bullet.

"People were prepared for some very high winds, and we didn't get them," Struthers said. "We were very fortunate in this part of eastern Ontario."

One tree near a local restaurant in the town fell onto some hydro wires, causing a small fire early Tuesday morning.

Terri Graham was opening the restaurant when she saw the fire.

"I thought maybe Halloween decorations were hanging in the tree, but no. It was on fire," Graham said.

Firefighters and hydro crews came to fix the problem.

More storm-related weather expected in coming days

In Ottawa, the damage was relatively minor, with fallen branches and a few downed trees reported throughout the city.

Sandy-influenced weather is expected to prevail in the region for the next couple of days.

Environment Canada was predicting a 70-per-cent chance of rain Tuesday afternoon with winds blowing from 30 km/h to 50 km/h and a high temperature of 16 C. Rain was expected overnight with the winds becoming light this evening.

Wednesday was expected to bring showers and a cooler high of 10 C, while more showers and a high of 8 C forecast for Thursday.

Friday should bring rain or flurries and a high of just 2 C, the weather agency predicted.